Burning Like The Sun
by Rachael-Rose
Summary: Sequel to I Told You Not To Push The Button! Second in the Everybody Lives Series. Now with added Torchwood :P
1. Chapter 1

"Morning, Ianto."

"Good morning, sir."

"Anything for me?"

"Nothing, sir. Looks like it's going to be quiet today."

-

"So much for a quiet day." Jack flopped back into his chair, studying the email printout Ianto had just given him.

"You're wanted as soon as possible."

"What for? A few people have tried to kill themselves, okay, that's sad and all, but this is a police matter!"

Ianto shifted uncomfortably. "There have been twelve attempted suicides in London over the past two days, sir. Most of which should have…worked." He pronounced the word as if it he were eating something that had gone bad. Seeing Jack shrug, he explained further. "The police feel that your…experience would be useful. All twelve attempts were made by the same person."

"What?"

"The woman in question is being held by the police for her own safety, sir. She refuses to let anyone near her, and she's asking for you."

A sudden feeling passed over Jack as he resumed reading the printout. It was hard to describe. The only word he could find for it was 'dark.' Not expecting to like the answer at all, and with a good idea of what the answer would be, he looked up and asked, "What's her name?"

Ianto looked at another piece of paper he had in his hand. "Rose Tyler, sir."


	2. Chapter 2

A hurriedly packed bag and a few barked orders later, Jack and Ianto had bundled themselves into the nearest car, which happened to be Owen's, cursing at the stalling engine. Deciding he didn't have time for this, Jack had pulled him out of the car and thrown him into the van instead. Now they were stuck behind the traffic jam from Hell on the motorway, Jack fidgeting and Ianto tapping the steering wheel impatiently.

"COME ON!" Jack hit the dashboard with the flat of his hand, regretting it immediately.

"Sir? Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"With all due respect, what's so important about this Miss Tyler? Why are you so desperate to get to her?"

"Rose. Beautiful Rose," Jack rubbed his hand, staring wistfully out of the window at the seemingly endless line of cars. "I travelled with her for a while. Me, her and the Doctor." Ianto nodded, understanding filtering into his mind. He'd been the one Jack had trusted to tell about the Doctor – why, he didn't know, but knowing how deeply the captain felt about it all, he'd been…well, honoured, he supposed, to be the confidante. Maybe that was why, unusually, he'd been asked to come along.

"I see," he said. "She's the one-"

"-who made me what I am. Yeah," Jack sighed. "The bad wolf." He pronounced the words carefully, deliberately. "Rose Tyler, time goddess." He laughed out loud. "She meant a lot to me. They both did. She might not be able to kill herself, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let her try anymore. I've got to help her."

"What about the Doctor? Don't they travel together anymore?"

"I would have thought so. I've got a feeling that he's involved in whatever's making her do this, though. When I get my hands on him…"

-

They finally reached London just after dusk, both exhausted but intent. Ianto drove them round for what seemed like hours before a flash of blue lights and a deserted road caught Jack's eye. He hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary, but a voice in his head told him that this was where they should look. Turning into the road, Ianto barely had chance to stop the van before Jack had jumped out the door and was running towards the small group of policemen.

"Captain Jack Harkness, Torchwood," he said hurriedly, flashing a piece of paper at the closest officer. "I thought you people told me she was locked up!"

The officer looked at him, white faced. "Should've been here an hour ago, mate. She got out. The station was chaos; I've never seen anything like it! I don't know what the Hell she is, but…she blew the door off. Locked in an empty cell with no weapons, and she blew the door off!"

Jack scanned the area, looking for any sign of Rose.

"Can't find her anywhere," the officer said. "We know she's here somewhere, but she must be bloody good at hiding. Got here about ten minutes ago and there she was in the middle of the road, throwing cars around like bits of paper! The more she tries, the more she fails, the angrier she gets."

"Rose really wants to die, doesn't she? God, I'm going to kill him for this!" Jack walked away from the officer and towards the bridge. On the other side, cars were deserted, strewn across the road like rubbish.

"Jack?" Startled, he looked up. Rose was there, standing on the edge of the bridge, smiling. "I knew you'd come…I knew you were here. I could sense you."

"Rose, you have to stop this!"

"You sound like _him_."

"Rose, come down. We can help you, just stop this."

"I wanted to tell you I was sorry, for what I did to you. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I was so wrong. This isn't right."

"Come down, Rose, please."

Jack stared in horror as Rose smiled at him again, but this wasn't Rose's smile. She spoke again, but it wasn't her voice. "Oh, I'll come down."

And, head first, she jumped.


	3. Chapter 3

"Rose!"

Jack waved a hand in the direction of the voice. "Deal with it, Ianto, we don't want more people crowding round."

"Let me through! Rose!" The stranger struggled against the hold Ianto had on him. "Listen, Mr Whoever-you-are, let go of me. I need to see Rose."

"And who are you exactly, sir?"

"I'm the Doctor."

Ianto regarded the man for a few seconds with a raised eyebrow. "And I'm the Queen of England. Come on, you're leaving, now." And he manoeuvred the man towards the pavement, ignoring the protests and the occasional curses. Eventually the Doctor had had enough.

"I'm telling you," he said, turning once Ianto had finally let go of him, "I'm the Doctor. Ask him." He pointed at where Jack was still crouched on the road.

"Sir?" Jack came over, an impatient look on his face. "This man says he knows you.

"I've never seen him before in my life." The captain swore under his breath and marched off again.

"I know you!" the Doctor yelled back. "I know what you are! I know she did it!"

Jack stopped in his tracks, turning slowly to face the Doctor, who was still guarded by a wary Ianto. He looked at them both, then began approaching them slowly. "You're the Doctor?"

"It's complicated. New body," he gestured vaguely at himself.

Jack was standing right in front of the Doctor now, hands in his pockets, like he was chatting to an old mate he'd just met in the pub. "I see. And this is Rose. Well, I don't know what happened up there, or what's happened between you two since, but I've got a damn good idea you've got something to do with it." Without warning, a hand flew from one of the pockets and a fist caught the Doctor square on the chin, sending him flying. "That," spat the captain, "isn't a millionth of what you deserve for whatever it is that's hurt Rose."

"Now, be fair!" coughed the Doctor indignantly, "The TARDIS is as much to blame as I am!"

Jack didn't answer. He left the Doctor on the ground and he and Ianto walked away to rejoin the group, the latter throwing a regretful glance back as he left. The Doctor, rubbing his face with the back of a hand, got to his feet and followed them.

"What happened to her?" he asked, looking down at the body on the road. His Rose, just laying there, her neck twisted at an impossible angle.

"She jumped. Ianto and me were called from Torchwood in Cardiff to investigate reports of a woman who'd been making suicide attempts all over London and walking away from them all unhurt. This is the thirteenth in two days." Jack's voice was flat, grief-stricken.

"What day is it?"

"Tuesday, why?" Jack shot a confused look at the Doctor.

After a quick calculation, he replied, "I brought her back to London ten minutes ago! The TARDIS must have returned me here to try and save her. Here it's a week since I dropped her off."

"What the Christ happened with you two anyway? If this is because of you, I swear I'll-"

"Sir?" Ianto asked, as the captain stared down at the body in confusion.

"Can't you hear that?" Everyone was silent.

"Some kind of cracking noise," offered one policeman. "What is it?"

And they all looked, and one policewoman fainted, as Rose's head slowly twisted back to its proper position, and she looked up at the people around her. She spread her hands, pushing herself to her knees and then to her feet, brushing the grit from her top and looked at the ground disbelievingly.

"Shit."

Somewhere, close by, there was a scream, and the sound of shattering glass.

"Oh, well," Rose said, in the distorted voice the Doctor recognised well by now. "Unlucky thirteen." She held her left hand up, and the windows of the nearest building shattered, following her hand as it rose. Her right hand flew out, and the nearest officer was flung into the side of his patrol car. "Come to save me, have you, Doctor?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Well? Have you come to save me?"

"Yes." The Doctor waved a hand by his side discreetly, and those still standing backed away slowly.

"Do you think I am stupid?" Rose smiled. The people behind her stopped mid-step, frozen, their eyes flickering from side to side in panic. "You can't save her now," she laughed.

Jack stepped forward. "Save who? Who are you?"

"You do not know me? I made you." The captain's eyes widened and he backed off.

"Rose," began the Doctor slowly, "let those people go, and come with me."

"I am not Rose."

"Who are you?"

"I do not have a name."

"Then I'll call you Rose. Come with me to the TARDIS. Jack can come too, if you want."

"The TARDIS?" Rose laughed again. "You do not know what you are asking, Doctor."

"Come with me, or I'll take you with me."

The people behind her who were held frozen fell backwards, finishing their steps, and a few of them turned on their heels and ran. Rose smiled smugly at the Doctor.

"Lead the way."

The three began the walk towards the TARDIS, which was partially hidden by a wall at the end of the road, Rose in front followed by the Doctor and Jack, who gestured to the police officers in a 'don't even think about following' fashion. Halfway there, Rose stopped.

"What?" Jack asked, his hand unconsciously reaching for his gun. He cursed himself when he realised; how could he think about shooting Rose?

She turned slowly to face them again, the look of amusement replaced by terror. "Doctor? I told you to leave me! Why are you here?"

"What the…Rose? Is that you?" The Doctor took her by the shoulders and searched her face, confused. She began to cry.

"No more tears, I didn't want tears…help me, Doctor, please," she cried, and he stared in disbelief as the tears dried from her cheeks instantly and the smirk reappeared. Rose looked down at his hands in disgust and jerked them away.

"Enough's enough, Doctor," whispered Jack as they approached the TARDIS. They nodded to each other, and in one swift motion grabbed Rose, picked her up and hurried into the mercifully unlocked ship, bundling her into the captain's chair.

"You like to think I didn't expect that, don't you?" she laughed, swinging her legs over the side of the chair and leaning back comfortably. "I can see everything. I can see all of you, Doctor. I could do to you in an instant what I did to the Daleks."

"You don't scare me. Give me back my Rose."

"You're right. You're not scared, but he is." She smiled at Jack. "Would you like to know what I see now?" The captain swallowed nervously. "I see heartbeats. His are calm. Yours are fast – you're scared! And I know why. Because you have tried to convince yourself that you were wrong, and that the tests were wrong, and that it was all your imagination, but it isn't. You know that now."

"Jack, what the Hell is she talking about?" asked the Doctor, completely lost by now, and not liking it at all.

"Now really, Doctor, how can you not know? Doesn't register up here, does it? So used to finding nothing that you do not try anymore."

Realisation hit him, and he turned to Jack slowly, not taking his eyes off the man's chest. Under normal circumstances he supposed this would be the point where a comment or two would be made. He looked for a few seconds, reeling as if he'd been punched in the stomach. When he looked back at Rose, his face was pure anger.

"Let her go. Now. Let her go or I will make you realise what fear REALLY is!" Rose laughed, childlike glee in her voice. "_GIVE ROSE BACK TO ME_!"


	5. Chapter 5

"You…what did you do to him?" the Doctor spluttered, gesturing vaguely at Jack.

"Correction – what did Rose do? She thought she was doing the right thing. Of course, you had to go and kiss her, take it away before she did the job." Rose stared blankly at him.

"I had to! She was dying!"

"She still is. I told you, she didn't finish the job. Why do you think it hurt so much? Rose hated the fact that you were always so alone. She tried to change that. Stupid human."

Hearing those words, the Doctor exploded.

"Rose is not a stupid human! Not my Rose!"

"Stupid, yes. Human, though, is now another matter." She took a step nearer the Doctor, a smile growing on her face as though she derived some sick pleasure from her words. "She loved you. She loved you enough to take all that power, to save you, and make her, and him, like you. It hurt her. It burned. It was flame, and ice, and wind and rain and knives through her new hearts all at the same time." Rose laughed, edging closer. "Only you had to jump in, didn't you? And they are not complete. That is why he still appears as he did when you first met him. If you had let her, she would have died to return them all to you."

Jack jumped forward, suddenly, and hating himself for it, took Rose by the throat. "What are you?" he snarled.

"I am the wolf."

"You're not. Rose is, and she wouldn't do this." Jack's grip tightened.

"I am her fear. I am the hatred she turns on herself every time she remembers that she killed her Doctor. I'm her pain and her sorrow," she looked at the Doctor, laughing. "She hates herself. She corrupted the wolf into me, and I have her now, and I will soon have destroyed all that was left of _your_ Rose. And do you know something? She's _terrified_."

The Doctor didn't react as Jack expected. He held a hand up for the captain to let her go, then said, "Rose, I know you're still there somewhere, and I know you don't give up that easily. Fight it. Talk to me, Rose."

Then something happened. The smile faded, and although it wasn't the reaction the Doctor wanted, it was better than it could have been.

"I can give her back to you. But you have to give me something. I want a body."

"I'm not going to sacrifice someone else to you."

There was an awkward silence, and then Jack spoke up. "What about me?" he stammered.

"Jack, no…" the Doctor began.

"You are suitable. But will you die for her?"

Jack looked at the Doctor then back at Rose. "No question. I told her once that she was worth fighting for, and I meant it. I want something in return, though."

"Which is?"

"I want you to put everything back the way it was. I want Rose to live."

"I will do as you say. You have made your choice," she said, "but now the Doctor must make his."

"What is my choice?" the Doctor asked, nervous.

"I can give Rose back to you as she was before she saved you, and you will watch her age and die. Or I can give you this body, and you will be the one to comfort her through the loss of all those she cares for as she lives on."


	6. Chapter 6

"I tried to tell her, Jack, I really tried. Before you turned up there was an…'incident'," the Doctor looked pointedly at the ceiling. "Rose found out what happened on the satellite. She thought she'd killed me, so she-"

"Tried to kill herself," finished the captain. "Yeah. Got an email this morning in Cardiff saying the London police wanted me to investigate some woman who was jumping off anything she could find. What I don't understand is, was it Rose deciding to do that, or that…thing?"

The two were sat on the floor in one of the TARDIS' corridors, having locked Rose in the 'star room.' The decision he'd been given – which all came to down to letting Rose live or die, and he hated to admit it to himself – really was too much. What he hated even more was that every second that passed sat out here, he was leaning more and more towards the selfish choice; to tell whatever had taken Rose to return her to him as she was now, like him. The second last of her kind, living and living while she watched her friends and her family die, and he knew he couldn't inflict that upon her. But at the same time…

"I think that was Rose," the Doctor said finally, sighing deeply. "I think she knew how dangerous this other self had become, and that together with all that hate…she couldn't take it, I suppose. "

"What are you going to do? We can't sit out here forever, you heard what it said, eventually she'll be gone completely."

"I don't know. I don't want to be alone anymore, Jack! And Rose…I swore I'd never let her…I swore I wouldn't love her. But I do. I want her so much, and not just for a few years, I want her forever. How can I do that to her? How can I do that, knowing that one day I'll stand with her at her mum's funeral?"

"Can't Rose choose?"

"There's barely enough of her left in there to make a decision like that."

"Let it have me," Jack suggested, "then talk to Rose, and I'll make it do what you say. This isn't right. You shouldn't have to do this on your own!"

"Why are you doing this?" asked the Doctor, changing the subject.

"You don't want to know."

"I do. Tell me."

"Trust me, you really don't want to know," insisted the captain, looking at anything but the Doctor. "Let's just say…it's a matter of the heart."

"You love her as well."

"Yes. Not like that, though, she's…she's a sister to me. Look, I've dealt with the fact that it's not 'meant to be,' and now I'm trying to save the part that is, okay? Can we not talk about this?"

They were both quiet for a moment, then the Doctor nodded sagely and whispered an, 'aha' under his breath, a smile threatening to crack the blank mask he'd adopted.

"Right then!" He jumped up suddenly, startling Jack from his embarrassed silence. "Let's go and talk to our friend!"

"You've decided?"

The Doctor smiled sadly. "Yes. I'm probably going to regret it later, but yes."


	7. Chapter 7

"Well, that's not good." The Doctor and Jack stood in the doorway, taking in the scene around them. How it had happened when there was nothing in the room but a cushion on the floor, they didn't know, but the room was chaos.

Instead of a cushion there were feathers everywhere, and the walls looked as though they'd been torn apart. Rose stood in the centre of it all, seemingly unable to choose between grabbing at her head in pain and throwing her arms in all directions, causing whatever lay in front of them to creak ominously and splinter like wood.

"What the Hell are you doing to my ship?" the Doctor shouted indignantly over the noise, narrowly avoiding an outstretched arm.

Rose looked up at him, wide-eyed. Yellow-eyed, the Doctor noticed with dismay. "Stupid human! Stop!" she shrieked in a rasping voice. "Impossible!"

The Doctor grinned, jumping from side to side to avoid her arms. "Brilliant! Come on, Rose! Power to the humans!" He punched the air triumphantly.

"Choose, Doctor! Give me a body! Stupid child! I have won! Stop!" The two voices – the distorted one and Rose's own – seemed to be fighting for dominance; first one and then the other screamed out at the Doctor and Jack. "You haven't won! I win! Get out of me!"

"Let her go! Let her go and make them human again!"

"I don't want to be human! I want to be like you!" Rose's voice said desperately. "Finish me! Make me like him!"

The Doctor covered his face with his hands, turning away. Hearing Rose say it made the choice so much harder, but he knew what he had to do. Turning back, he yelled, "Make them human again!"

Deathly silence fell for a second, the creaking stopped, and Rose looked at him. The Doctor couldn't decide which one it was. Then she screamed. Jack fell against the nearest wall, his hands against his ears, but the Doctor recognised the scream and was prepared.

Somewhere in the background, the Doctor heard something. It registered vaguely that he shouldn't be hearing it, not here, but it was definitely there and it was growing. A deep rumble, shaking the floor under his feet and almost knocking him down.

_Get out of her. Return to where you belong. You will not harm them!_

The TARDIS. Rose threw her head back, and for a moment, the Doctor thought the impossible was happening. Out of her face, her body, her clothes – everything – light erupted, obscuring Rose from view. Jack ran forward as it faded and the screaming stopped. She practically fell into his arms, looking around with a dazed smile.

"Doctor? Oh, hi Jack! Where'd you come from? Ugh…what happened? My head hurts…" Her eyes closed, and she was out cold.

The Doctor blurted out the first question that came to mind. "What is she?"

Jack hoisted her up a bit and placed an ear to her chest. "Human."

"What colour are her eyes?"

"Eh? What do want to…oh, fine," Jack gave in, opening Rose's left eye. "Brown. Why?"

"She wearing makeup?"

"Yeah, bit old though, don't think she's slept in a few days. What's with the questions?"

_Calm down. I only got it out. It's not going to bother anyone now._

The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief at hearing the words in his head. "Never mind," he said out loud, "I just thought…never mind. Come on, let's get her somewhere she can sleep."


	8. Chapter 8

The Doctor had left Rose on his own bed. His room was the closest to the middle of the ship, and although he knew he could have left her next to the open control room door without danger, leaving her in his room felt somehow safer. Now he and Jack were standing in the open TARDIS doorway, along with a very confused Ianto Jones.

"Leaving already?" the Doctor asked, smiling.

"Yeah, I've got stuff to sort out here. That lot, for starters," he said, almost regretfully, pointing at a few officers who were still gathered a short distance away. "I'm sorry, about the hitting you and all," he added.

"It's okay. I understand. I've been feeling the same way about the TARDIS for the last few days…" He held out a hand, and Jack shook it.

"See you round, maybe? Now you know where I am there's no excuse for not sending a Christmas card."

"Sure you're not coming?" Jack nodded. The Doctor smiled at them both, then turned and walked into the TARDIS, waving as he closed the door. Jack and Ianto watched them disappear, and walked away, towards the group of policeman.

"Sir, can I ask a personal question?"

"Yes, I did. Still do, I suppose." Jack grinned at Ianto, who just nodded and smiled sadly. "Miss him like Hell. They don't need me around, though, especially not now."

"What happened in there, anyway?"

"Long story. I'll tell you sometime." Jack stopped in his tracks. "Shit. I never checked." Ianto looked away, flushing, as Jack suddenly pulled at the buttons on his shirt and put a hand to his chest; first one side, then the other. His face fell. "Still there," he muttered, almost sadly. "Oh, well. All the more reason for him to come back for me."

Jack didn't mention the part about how Rose had been dying. Whether it was because he didn't want to scare Ianto, or because he didn't want to scare himself, he wasn't sure. He just mentally crossed his fingers and plastered on his best grin, then prepared to charm the pants off the policemen.

-

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor walked away from the controls, leaving the ship to her own devices, and made for his room. He wanted to be there when Rose woke up.

Just so he could make sure she was okay.


	9. Chapter 9

"Huh…where am I?" The Doctor, huddled against a wall, leapt to his feet at the sudden break in the silence. "Doctor?"

"Hello! Nice of you to join us," he grinned at the face slowly appearing from underneath the sheets.

"Where am I?"

"My bed," the Doctor began, almost laughing out loud as Rose's eyes threatened to jump from her head. "I've been sat in that corner for the last five hours waiting for you to wake up. I was going to sit on the bed, but you look freaked out enough."

"What were you doing down there?" Rose tried to pull herself up, but flopped back onto the pillow, grimacing and surprised to find herself wearing pyjamas. "God, I feel sick…ow, my head! How'd I get here, anyway?"

"I put you there. Yeah, did the pyjamas too, before you ask." Rose blushed. "You were sick, I wanted to keep an eye on you."

Rose tried to get out of the bed, the Doctor barely catching her before she fell onto the floor. He pulled a face as she went on to be sick on the rug.

"Really, that's a two hundred year old carpet!" The laugh he gave was quickly drowned out by the somewhat weird sound of Rose crying and retching at the same time. "What are you crying about? Just a rug."

"Scared…of being sick."

"Oh." The Doctor helped Rose back into the bed, taking off his jacket and offering her the sleeve to wipe her face. He pulled the sheets back over her and sat on the edge of the bed. "Want me to get you anything? Got some pills in the med bay that'll stop you being sick."

"Please. Why am I sick, anyway?" It occurred to the Doctor then that she didn't remember. Typical Rose, he thought, while at the same time silently thanking the TARDIS for wiping it out. "Something happened?"

"Yeah."

"Something bad."

"Yeah. It's okay now though. You're safe in here." He stretched out on the bed, propping himself up with one arm and running his free hand through Rose's hair. "I'm going to go and get those pills, okay? I'll be right back." He started to move off the bed, but a hand reached out to grab aimlessly at his shirt.

"Don't go away. What if I'm sick again?"

"I'll be back in thirty seconds. Promise."

-

He arrived back in twenty, the TARDIS having moved the med bay across the corridor from his room, to find Rose looking at herself in a long mirror on the other side of the room from the bed. She looked confused, observing herself from all angles and running a hand through her hair, swaying and trying to stay upright.

"Rose! What are you doing?" The Doctor put down the pills and the glass he was carrying and guided her back to sit on the bed.

"I don't look right."

"You look fine." He regarded her dazed face for a few seconds, before adding more quietly, "You look beautiful." Rose smiled at him.

"I still don't look right," she argued, swallowing the pill the Doctor handed to her. "Did you get it out?"

It took a while for what 'it' was to register, but he nodded. So she remembered that…not so bad, considering, he thought.

"Look," the Doctor continued out loud, "you need to be in bed. You're sick and you need sleep. Come on." Without warning, he stood and hoisted her up bridal style, throwing back the sheet and replacing her in the bed, before propping himself up again on top of the sheets, watching her settle herself.

"Sorry," Rose whispered. "About the trouble, I mean."

"Don't be. Remember what I said?" he ran a hand through her hair again, smiling. "I'd do it again if I had to? Although, I'd rather not if you can help it!" Rose grinned. "Love you," he added seriously, leaning over to place a kiss on her forehead.

"Love you too. Don't go away?"

"I'm not going anywhere. Now go to sleep."

Rose shut her eyes, shifting under the sheets to rest her head by the Doctor's chest, listening to his hearts. "Doctor?" she asked, opening one eye.

"Yeah?"

"It wasn't Cassandra again, was it?"

He laughed and wrapped an arm round her. "No. Now go to sleep!"

It wasn't until he was sure she was fast asleep that the Doctor let a tear slip. So close, he thought, so close to losing her that time. He pulled Rose closer and buried his face in her hair, grinning at the very faint scent of banana shampoo. Then he closed his eyes, giving in to the exhaustion that had suddenly appeared after the last few days, and falling into a dream about Rose, bananas and Merillian chocolate.


	10. Chapter 10

The Doctor slumped against the console, wondering whether to check on Rose. She'd been fine when she woke up, no trace of the sickness from last night, and she didn't seem to be worried by anything, but he was wondering whether he really should give her a check over in the med bay.

She'd been gone for what seemed like hours. He didn't want to invade, considering she'd probably be wanting time on her own after all she'd found out, but eventually the worry got too much for the Doctor and he found himself outside her bedroom door, knocking urgently.

"Rose? Can I come in? Are you okay?"

A muffled 'come in' floated through to him, and he opened the door a crack, poking his head round and scanning the room. Rose was nowhere to be seen, but a crack of light showed under a door that led off from the bedroom. The Doctor followed it, peering round the second door and jumping back behind it once he saw what was inside. Rose was standing in front of a long mirror, studying herself again, in little but her underwear, and seemingly not bothered by it.

"Rose? Are you alright? Why are you standing there like that?"

"No. It's okay; you can come in if you want. There's something I want to ask you."

The Doctor edged into the room, looking anywhere but at Rose. As much as he wanted to, it didn't seem right, somehow. There was something wrong. She turned briefly to look at him, then back to her reflection in the mirror.

"Do I look different?"

"You look the same as ever. Not that I've seen you in your underwear…why do you keep asking me that?"

"It said I burnt. That I was burning like the sun. I don't _look_ right, Doctor." She didn't give him a chance to reply as she looked around for her clothes and pulled them on. When she was done, she looked up at him with a grin that said, 'forget it', and changed the subject.

"There's something else I wanted to ask you. What were you dreaming about last night?

"Eh?"

"I woke up before you, and you sounded like you were having a _very_ interesting dream. Sounded like you were making some very interesting noises as well."

Great, thought the Doctor. I walk in on Rose in her underwear, she starts asking me about that damn dream that I can't get out of my head, and she's doing that thing with her tongue. "Er…that? I make noises in my sleep all the time."

"No, you don't."

"Yes I – how do you know?" Rose blushed.

"Oh…well, see…I might have watched you sleeping a few times." The Doctor smiled. "Not that you sleep a lot," she added, suddenly fascinated by the ceiling.

"Wanna know a secret?" The Doctor ambled over to Rose, his voice low. "I watch you sleep too. All the time. Wanna know something else?"

"Yeah?"

"I think, after all the stuff that's been said these past few days, that we're acting far too much like a pair of schoolkids. That dream, if you must know, was about you. You, a dish of melted Merillian chocolate and banana splits. Can't blame me, really, if I was making those 'interesting noises', can you?"

"N-no…" Rose mumbled.

"And I'll tell you another thing. I'm thinking about it right now. What you do is you melt it, then put it on your mouth, with a bit of sugar. After that, what you do with it's up to you. The reaction between the chocolate and the sugar causes this kind of crackly sensation when it's on the skin-"

"You're babbling again."

"Sorry."

"No you're not."

"Okay, I'm not sorry at all." The Doctor grinned. "But what are you going to do about it?" There was a challenge there, and she wasn't about to shy away from it.

"First, I'm going to do this." Rose grabbed the Doctor by both shoulders and pulled him towards her, crushing her mouth against his. She stood back, breathing audibly, and was amused to hear that he was doing the same thing." Then, I'm going to tell you that you're not to go near the kitchen for at least an hour, under pain of…well, something painful. Okay? Surprise." She kissed him again, and then turned to leave the room.

"Oh, and don't go near the wardrobe either," Rose added as an afterthought. "Actually, maybe you should just stay here. Just stay out of my way!" she shouted, halfway down a corridor by now, leaving a dumbfounded, and rather intrigued, Doctor behind her.


	11. Chapter 11

"Roooooooose!" the Doctor whined, banging on the door. "Can I come in yet? I'm bored!"

"Hold on, will you? Anyway, since when did you get bored?"

"Since I put ideas in your head about chocolate and banana splits and you ran off and told me to stay away!" He banged the kitchen door again, and then kicked it impatiently, earning a sharp shock to the foot. "Shut up," he muttered simply at the wall. "I'm not done with you yet. Rose! Let me in there!"

"Patience!"

"I don't want to be patient." The Doctor pouted and stalked off to the control room, ignoring the amused clicks from the roof above him.

-

"You look ridiculous." The Doctor looked up to see a grinning Rose in the doorway. He was lying spread-eagled on the floor of the console room, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, with an open bag of Maltesers next to him. The one he'd been blowing up and down in the air fell forgotten to the ground as he stared at Rose, his jaw practically scraping the floor.

"You can come in now. Unless you'd rather lay there and play with Maltesers." The smirk on her face grew as the Doctor still didn't say anything. Inside she was feeling rather pleased with herself. It had taken a lot of searching in the wardrobe to find this dress again, and it'd obviously been worth it, if only to see the Doctor, for once, completely at a loss for words. Rose walked over to him and, taking a hand, dragged him from the floor, marching him dumbly out of the room.

"Where are we going?" he asked, after walking for what seemed like forever.

"Here," Rose said brightly, opening a door that seemed to have appeared next to them. The Doctor looked in, and gasped in surprise.

"She fixed it! The old girl fixed it!" he practically jumped for joy at the sight of the now-restored walls of his 'star room.' Rose looked at him quizzically, and he bit his lip, shaking the comment off and hoping there wouldn't be any questions.

They entered and Rose said something under her breath, before turning back to face him, arms outstretched in a 'what do you think?' gesture. As if on cue, lights blazed into life everywhere, and the Doctor couldn't remember whether they'd been there all along or not. Scattered across the entirety of the floor, and stood in a few nooks in the walls, he noted, were candles. The circle in the middle of the room was the only clear space. Rose sat down on the floor, arranging her dress around her and motioning for the Doctor to do the same.

"You were right," she said simply. She put her hands behind her back and appeared to be feeling around for something. "Want your surprise now?"

The Doctor, still staring like an idiot at Rose and still not quite with it, grinned and nodded, bouncing like an excited child at Christmas.

"Shut your eyes." He obeyed, and heard a shuffling sound from in front of him. Nothing happened, and he frowned with impatience.

"Where's my surprise?" Much to the Doctor's embarrassment, the words came out sounding uncannily like a whingeing toddler.

"Crap…" he heard Rose mutter, "it's gone hard again." The Doctor tried not to laugh. "Can I borrow the screwdriver?" Any other time he'd have questioned her motives, but he was far more concerned with this 'surprise', and handed it over without much bother, keeping his eyes firmly shut. There was a buzzing noise, and a clink as the screwdriver was set down on the metal grill of the floor.

"Now then, Doctor," Rose began, the smirk evident in her voice, "I want you to keep your eyes shut, your hands to yourself, and…" he shuddered as he felt her breath on his ear, "_try_ not to scream."

The Doctor felt a finger trace across his mouth once, then twice, and mentally cursed as he realised what Rose was doing.

Why, oh why, did I ever tell her about- 

The thought was brought to an untimely end as first he felt Rose lips on his own, and then a tingling sensation that seemed to blossom on his tongue and grow until it almost reached the tips of his ears. He pulled back, eyes open, and smiled at Rose, who now had a smudge of chocolate and sugar across her top lip. She raised an eyebrow at him and tutted.

"Naughty…I told you to keep your eyes closed." From somewhere behind her Rose produced a blindfold and quickly planted it on his head. Before he could raise his hands to pull it off she covered them with her own, keeping them firmly attached to the floor.

"R-Rose…what are you d-doing?"

"Behave, and I might let you take it off." The tingle started again, this time on his neck. He gasped at the sudden shock, and Rose laughed against his skin, adding to the sensation. "I'm going to let go of your hands now," she whispered. "Now, you're not going to use them, are you?" The Doctor shook his head. "Good."


	12. Chapter 12

"Humans…you're all in-insane…"

Rose had successfully relieved the Doctor of his shirt and jacket and he was sure that by now he must be one huge chocolaty mess. Not that he cared. Whatever she was doing with it, she was a genius.

"I don't hear you complaining. Actually," she murmured, brushing a chocolate-covered thumb across one nipple, "I'm impressed. You've managed to shut up. Ten out of ten." The Doctor bit his lip as she licked the chocolate off again.

"Does that mean I can take this thing off now?"

"No."

"Plea-agh!" Rose was ignoring him, apparently, appearing to prefer to continue the onslaught on his chest. "Complete maniacs," he muttered through gritted teeth, "complete maniacs…"

"You're going to have to stop the species-bashing," Rose warned, in between kisses, "or you really are going to be in trouble."

The Doctor grinned. "Stupid ape."

Without replying, Rose shoved the Doctor backwards, and he landed with a thud against the carpet. She ignored the protests and, occasionally pinning a restless hand to the ground, pulled his trousers off and discarded them, really not bothered whether they caught fire or not.

"Take it back?" she smirked.

"No." The blindfold disappeared and he blinked against the sudden light, Rose's face gradually swimming into view above him. He almost laughed out loud at the sight of her very smudged chin, but before he could open his mouth, she'd covered it with her own in a hard kiss, what was left of the chocolate in her mouth sending sparks through his head.

"You," she gasped as she pulled away, "are so screwed." Rose shifted again so that she straddled him, a wicked smile spreading across her lips.

Damn Rose, damn that dress, damn that smudge… 

"Look what I found," she said in a singsong voice, waving a small white dish. She ran her finger round the edge, gathering up the last of the chocolate. "Whatever shall I do with this?"

"Just do something with it, for heaven's sake!" groaned the Doctor, unconsciously arching upwards into Rose. "Why did I choose today to wear underwear?"

An amused smile crossed Rose's face. "I'll have to remember that. Oh, and Doctor? You can move your hands now." She licked the remaining chocolate from her finger and cocked an eyebrow suggestively.

-

"Just how did I manage to do that?"

"What?"

The Doctor looked at Rose, a bit confused. "How did I manage to get that dress off you so fast without ripping it?"

Rose propped herself up on her elbows, regretting it immediately. Flopping back to the ground with a groan, she muttered in disbelief, "I don't know. I don't care! What I do know is, next time I surprise you, I'm not doing it on the floor. Ow…"

"Don't you think this is a bit weird?" asked the Doctor after a while. "Remember I told you how the TARDIS was alive? And that I talk to her and stuff?" Rose just stuck an eyebrow up at him. "Well, here we are, lying naked on the floor, staring at the roof…reckon she can see us as well?" He stuck his tongue out at Rose, the look of horror in her face causing him to burst into giggles.

"What, is this some kind of voyeur club now? Exclusive membership, sentient time ships only?"

"Seriously though, Rose." He sat up, looking down at her for a moment, his expression unreadable. "You know what this means, don't you?" Rose smiled.

"Signing up. You're stuck with me."

"That okay with you?"

Rose gave a long-suffering sigh. "Stupid Time Lord."


	13. Chapter 13

"Roooose…Roooose…"

"Go away. Sleep." She swatted the Doctor's hand away as he tried to pull back the duvet. Hang on…duvet? "How did I get here? Where is here, anyway?" Rose poked her head out at looked at the room. It was a fancy mahogany-and-thick-carpet affair, definitely not hers. Then she recognised the rug.

"My room. Again. Well, ours, I don't know…anyway, get up!" The Doctor bounced up and down on the bed.

"Go away! OW!" The kink in Rose's back finally straightened out, and she glared over the duvet as the Doctor slowly backed out of the room, hands raised.

-

"Where are my clothes?" The Doctor looked up from the console to see Rose standing in the doorway, wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that were obviously far too big for her. "I looked all over the place but the only ones I've got smell like I was wearing them for days."

His eyes widened as he remembered that she'd done exactly that. "Um…remember that stuff with the holograms and…stuff? You walked out with a big black bag."

"Crap. Probably at my mum's, then. I guess I should go talk to her anyway."

"Oh, God…okay, we'll go to your mum's, but I'm staying outside. Brightly lit public places and all that." Clearly not relishing the idea of an encounter with Jackie Tyler, the Doctor set a course for Earth.

"Actually," began Rose thoughtfully, "what happened? I mean, I go to my mum's, and I remember sitting outside the front door the next day. I was thinking about you. Then I'm lying in your bed, ruining your carpets."

The TARDIS hummed uncomfortably, and the floor vibrated, echoing the awkward look on the Doctor's face as he searched for an explanation.

"Something happened on Earth." God, he hoped she was falling for this. "You weren't yourself. You got kind of…possessed by something. After I left you, the TARDIS sent me back, stubborn girl, but a week had gone by when I reached you. You're okay now, but I had to get you on board to check you over and I guess in all the panic, we left your clothes behind."

Rose nodded. That worried him. She wouldn't usually accept such pathetic explanations so easily. His Rose should be asking questions, dragging the truth out of him, ignoring him when he said that she wouldn't want to know. Even stranger than the way she kept saying there was something wrong with her.

"Doctor? Hello?" He jumped as he saw a hand waving in front of his face. The ship had stopped moving, and Rose was pulling him towards the door. He tried his best to stop her, protesting at how he'd get the mother of all slaps if he went in there with what they had to say.

"You're coming, and that's final," Rose insisted, dragging him out of the TARDIS. "I'm about to tell my mum I'm shacking up with a nine hundred year old alien. Hiding isn't going to help you, she'll only come and kick the door down."

"I told you before, the assembled hordes…"

"…couldn't stop my mum. I couldn't stop my mum, not if I went in there and swallowed an entire vortex again. If she's gonna slap you, she'll slap you." Rose threw him her sweetest smile.

With a sigh, the Doctor had to admit she was right.


	14. Chapter 14

The worst thing about all this, he thought, was that he couldn't remember the smiles. The good times, the laughter…they were all tucked away in some far off part of his brain that he couldn't seem to access, and all he could see were the screams and the tears.

Telling himself over and over again that he should have listened all along. Thinking about her face as she literally floated out of his life. Wondering whether he'd dreamed it all, whether Pete hadn't really appeared at the last minute, and whether she was out there somewhere, lost in the darkness. This was what he thought about, late at night, when the TARDIS was quiet and Martha was asleep.

Why couldn't he just remember a smile?

He was wrong. That wasn't the worst thing. The worst thing was wondering what had been wrong just before it all happened. The questions, the childlike acceptance of any pathetic explanation he threw at her…that wasn't right, and he couldn't help thinking that somehow, somewhere, something was still wrong, that a part of her was forever altered by what had happened up there on that satellite.

It was on nights like these, slumped in a chair in the library with a book across his lap, trying desperately to focus on words that always formed themselves into her name, that he was tempted, just to try. To Hell with them all, to Hell with what was going to happen. He'd done it before, he could do it again. He knew what would happen back home. Few tears would be shed over the loss of a few stupid apes. Then he thought about Martha, and he knew he couldn't do that to her. _Idiot_, he thought, _you never learn. It doesn't matter how many times you lose them, how many times you get hurt, you still go back for more._

It was a year to the day since Norway when someone made the choice for him. Running into the TARDIS after a particularly close call, they were met by flashes, beeps, wails and every other kind of noise he could think of. (_Obviously trying to get someone's attention…_)

It was a year to the day since he'd last kicked the console. Six months or so since he'd actually 'made up' with her. Now, looking at the readouts that blinked on every available screen (_okay, you've got my attention, now stop it, you're giving me a headache…_), he kicked it harder than he'd ever done before, not regretting the pain in what felt suspiciously like a broken toe one bit.

He didn't care that he was probably going to end up killing them all. He didn't care that somewhere in the room, Martha was screaming and clinging onto whatever she could find for dear life.

As they fell through, he remembered the day they'd landed in the tunnels to be confronted by their own tombstones, and the landing that came beforehand, and figured that this had to be at least three times that. He wondered briefly whether he was going there again. What would he find? Knowing his luck, they'd probably land in the middle of her funeral, wherever it was being held.

He literally fell out of the TARDIS. Somehow he'd ended up thrown towards the door, and now they were finally still, the door flew open and he was on his face in front of an indistinguishable crowd of people.

_This has to be some kind of sick joke_, he thought, looking up through hazy vision.

There was a scream as the entire wedding party turned to stare at him and the girl who was wandering, dazed, out of the TARDIS and into the aisle full of flowers.

"Uh…hello…"


End file.
